The Department of Commerce Blog Entries for Category: Inc.http://www.commerce.gov/blog/category/1317
The U.S. Department of Commerce has a broad mandate to advance economic growth and jobs and opportunities for the American people. It has cross cutting responsibilities in the areas of trade, technology, entrepreneurship, economic development, environmental stewardship and statistical research and analysis.
The products and services the department provides touch the lives of Americans and American companies in many ways, including weather forecasts, the decennial census, and patent and trademark protection for inventors and businesses. The development of commerce to provide new opportunities was the central goal at the department's beginning in 1903 and it remains a primary obligation today.enMBDA Helps Minority-Owned Businesses Win the Futurehttp://www.commerce.gov/blog/2011/07/21/mbda-helps-minority-owned-businesses-win-future
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<a href="http://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/images/2011/july/mbda-future-jobs.jpg" rel="lightbox[field_photo][MBDA Helps Minority-Owned Businesses Win the Future (Photo: Sacred Power Corp., Inc.)&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/images/2011/july/mbda-future-jobs.jpg&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; id=&quot;lightbox2-download-link-text&quot;&gt;Download Original&lt;/a&gt;]" class="imagefield imagefield-lightbox2 imagefield-lightbox2-custom_crop_350x230 imagefield-field_photo imagecache imagecache-field_photo imagecache-custom_crop_350x230 imagecache-field_photo-custom_crop_350x230"><img src="http://www.commerce.gov/sites/default/files/imagecache/custom_crop_350x230/images/2011/july/mbda-future-jobs.jpg" alt="Workers installing solar panels on reservation building" title="MBDA Helps Minority-Owned Businesses Win the Future (Photo: Sacred Power Corp., Inc.)" width="350" height="263" /></a> </div>
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<p>Commerce's <a href="http://www.mbda.gov/">Minority Business Development Agency</a> (MBDA) is enabling
job creation and growth within minority-owned companies as they expand through
innovation and untapped resources. MBDA has 50 business development centers and
regional offices throughout the country and is preparing to open its newest
business center in Cleveland, Ohio, in September to continue to create an environment
for support, technical training and access to capital, contracts and to
markets for business owners there.</p>
<p>Knowing that many jobs of the 21st century will
be in clean and renewable energy, green technology, and Healthcare IT, the <a href="http://www.mbda.gov/main/offices">MBDA
Business Centers</a> are reaching out to minority-owned firms so they can expand
into those new areas and keep communities strong and workers employed.</p>
<p>For example, MBDA client <a href="http://www.sacredpowercorp.com/">Sacred Power Corporation Inc</a>. based
in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a Native-American-owned renewable
and distributive energy manufacturer. Sacred Power operates on the principle
that “the world in which we live can change its current direction and
dependence on polluting energy sources and convert to renewable technologies
that provide clean, long-term solutions to today’s energy problems.”</p>
<p><!--break-->Sacred Power is the largest Native-American-owned renewable energy company
in the U.S., and has received numerous contracts, including a $500,000 federal
grant to build and install self-sustaining solar electricity systems for homes
without power in remote areas of the Navajo Nation. In providing renewable
electricity to its customers, the company employs a diverse workforce. </p>
<p>Sacred Power is one example of the many MBDA clients that is turning
entrepreneurship into job creation. Dave Scott Melton, a Sacred Power
principal, is a Laguna Tribal member and has more than 15 years of experience
in high-tech industry. Melton credits MBDA with assisting his business
financing and bonding. “MBDA assisted us along the whole timeline of business
development,” Melton said.</p>
<p>MBDA plays a key role in helping minority-owned companies identify resources
that will help them take their business to the next level.</p>
<p>Last year, MBDA assisted minority firms in securing nearly $4 billion in
financing opportunities and contracts while creating 6,400 new jobs that help
to stimulate local economies.</p>http://www.commerce.gov/blog/2011/07/21/mbda-helps-minority-owned-businesses-win-future#commentsClean energyEconomyEntrepreneurshipInc.InnovationJobsMinority-owned businessesSacred Power Corp.Small- and medium sized businessesMinority Business Development AgencyThu, 21 Jul 2011 15:00:00 +0000ksullivan@doc.gov13290 at http://www.commerce.gov